WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/L/816 
15 July 2011 
 (11-3547) 
General Council 
27-28 July 2011 Original:   English 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES – FORMER TRUST TERRITORY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS  
 
Report of the Government of the United States for the Year 2010  
under the Decision of 27 July 20071 
   The following communication, dated 7 July 2011,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States.  
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1. Introduction 
1. On 27 July 2007, the United States was grante d a renewal of the waiver (WT/L/183) from its 
obligations under paragr aph 1 of Article I of the GATT 1994 to the extent necessary to permit the 
United States Government to provide preferential treat ment for eligible imports into the United States 
from the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federate d States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, 
and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , formerly part of the Trust Territory of the 
Pacific Islands (TTPI).
2  This waiver expires 31 December 2016. 
2. Under the terms of this waiver, the United States is required to  submit to the General Council 
an annual report on the implementation of the trade -related provisions of the programme with a view 
to facilitating the annual review pr ovided for in paragraph 4 of Artic le IX of the WTO Agreement.  
This report covers the calendar year 2010 and trade data has been provided for that calendar year, the 
most recent year for which full-year data is available. 
2. Preferential Treatment for the Former Tr ust Territory of the Pacific Islands 
3. With the entry into force in 1986 of the Covenant establishing the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and the Compacts of Fr ee Association with the United States for the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, th e Federated States of Micronesia, and in 1994 of the Compact of 
Free Association with the United States for the Re public of Palau, the Trusteeship of the Pacific 
Islands, established on 2 April 1947, was terminated.  US law provides for the continuation of the 
preferential trade treatment granted these islands unde r the Trusteeship.  These preferences are similar 
to historical preferences the United States provides the US Virgin Islands, Guam and American 
Samoa, which were US possessions on 1 July 1939, a nd which are included in Annex D to Article I of 
                                                      
1 WT/L/694. 
2 These four entities formerly comprised the three geographic island groups known as the Marshall, 
Caroline, and Mariana Islands, which are located in the western Pacific Ocean region around Guam known as 
Micronesia.  With the expiration in 1986 of the U.N.-mandated TTPI which was administered by the United 
States for roughly 40 years, these islands formed into four political entities, three independent nations (Republic 
of the Marshall Islands, Federated Stated of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau), and one commonwealth in 
political union with the United States (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands).  WT/L/816 
Page 2  
 
  the GATT 1994.  The primary purpose of this preferen ce system has been to promote the expansion of 
trade and the economic development of the beneficiar ies in a manner consistent with the objectives of 
the GATT and with the trade, financial and deve lopment needs of the beneficiary countries. 
4. Under General Notes 3(a)(iv) and 10 of the Ha rmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, 
duty-free treatment is accorded to all products of the former TTPI, with some exceptions.  Watches 
and watch movements, and certain fishery products  are subject to quantity limitations, and buttons, 
certain textile, apparel, footwear and luggage products are subject to duty in some or all of the former 
TTPI.  Duty-free treatment is only accorded to the in-quota quantit y of the agricultural products 
subject to a tariff-rate quota.   
3. Performance 
5. A very small volume of production and trade is involved in this progra mme.  Taken together, 
US imports from the Republic of the Marshall Islands,  the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of 
Micronesia, and the Commonwealth of the Nort hern Mariana Islands in 2010 total about 
US$17 million. 
6. Total US imports from the former TTPI decr eased in 2010 from 2009 by approximately 
$5 million.  This decrease represents a continuation of a longer term trend of decreased US imports 
from the former TTPI (see table 1).  This decr ease has occurred mainly because of reduced US 
imports from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari ana Islands due to structural changes in global 
textile and apparel trade.  We continue to work cl osely with the former TTPI to try and broaden their 
industrial base.  
7. The Republic of the Marshall Islands was the largest exporter, responsible for roughly 
68 percent of total exports to the United States from the former TTPI in 2010.  The Federated States 
of Micronesia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands were the next largest exporters 
in 2010, followed by the Republic of Palau.  The following table provides summary information on US imports from the former Trust Territo ry of the Pacific Islands for 1996-2010.  
   WT/L/816
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TABLE 1  
 
US Imports for Consumption from the Former Trust Te rritory of the Pacific Islands, by Sources, 1996-2010 
 
 
Source 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
Value (1,000 dollars) 
Republic of the 
Marshall Islands 4,813 17,001 5,769 9,812 5,047 5,523 9,424 27,109 11,250 17,205 14,521 13,138 20,219 13,650 11,820 
Federal States of 
Micronesia 11,276 11,859 12,587 10,132 13,729 20,769 15,217 14, 347 11,415 1,558 885 4,069 3,552 2,918 4,218 
 
Republic of 
Palau 8,735 12,887 13,609 15,760 13,567 15,426  15,492 1,633 162 485 605 386 1,138 80 148 
Commonwealth 
of the Northern 
Mariana Islands 556,018 799,086 1,066,981 1,049,101 1,026, 158 948,115 816,959 826,123 811,020 679,560  498,362 319,171 105,299 5,959 1,163 
Total 580,842 840,833 1,098,946 1,084,805 1,058,502 989,833 857,092 869,212 833,847 698, 807 514,374 336,764 130,209 22,607 17,3 49 
 
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